Heel structure for hosiery



United States Patent 3,054,279 HEEL STRUQTIEE FOR HOSIERY Herman E. Crawford, Kernersville, N.C., assignor to The H. E. Crawford (Iornpany, Incorporated, Kernersville, N.C., a corporation of North Carolina Filed Oct. 7, H53, Ser. No. 765,793 4 Claims. (Cl. 66-48) The instant invention relates to improved methods of knitting hosiery in a circular knitting machine and to the hosiery so produced, and more particularly concerns the formation of an improved heel pocket for such hosiery.

In the conventional knitting of stockings of the type referred to the leg is knit suitably by circular or round and round knitting until the heel portion is reached. At this point approximately one-half the circle of needles, namely those needles knitting the front portion of the stocking and commonly referred to as the instep needles, are inactivated and the machine is clutched into reciprocatory motion. The inactive needles retain their loops and knitting proceeds on the active or heel needles with terminal needles being rendered inactive during successive strokes of reciprocation until the desired minimum number of needles are in action to form a narrowed gusset, the inactivated needles retaining their loops. Thereafter a widening opertion is performed with the previously inactivated needles being restored to action in successive courses of knitting until a widened gusset is produced suture joined to the narrowed gusset. All the needles are then activated and knitting proceeds as customary on the full circle of needles in circular motion.

A primary object of the instant invention is provision of an improved method of knitting a heel pocket wherein the narrowing operation is eliminated and the heel pocket is produced by a series of widening operations whereby a heel construction having a greater fullness is produced with improved fitting and wear characteristics.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a method as described above and the product thereof wherein multi-feed knitting is employed throughout the formation of the heel pocket.

My invention will be more fully understood and further objects thereof will become apparent when reference is made to the more detailed description thereof which is to follow and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a stocking made 'with the method of the instant invention and incorporating the structural features thereof;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view illustrating certain steps in the method of the instant invention; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary View similar to the heel portion of the stocking shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating a modification of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and Z the heel pocket in accordance with the instant invention is illustrated as embodied in a stocking such as a womans full length stocking where it finds a particular field of use. It will be understood however that the construction may also be employed in half hose or socks if so desired.

In the conventional knitting of hosiery, particularly womens hosiery, circular or round and round knitting is employed to produce a tube, such knitting continuing until a course is reached designated in FIG. 1 as course abcd. At this point the machine shifts from rotary to reciprocating knitting for the formation of the heel pocket illustrated generally by the reference character 1, round and round knitting then again being resumed until the toe is reached at which time the machine again shifts to reciprocating motion to knit the toe pocket indicated generally at 2.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the instant invention the heel pocket comprises a plurality of sections or :gussets 3, 4 and 5 defined in part by three suture lines bc, e'-f, and g-fc on opposite sides of the heel pocket. It will be appreciated that in FIG. 1 only one side of the stocking, which is in flattened condition, is shown and that the identical construction will be on the opposite side.

Each of the sections 3, 4 and 5 of the heel pocket are, in accordance with the instant invention, formed solely by a Widening operation as will now be described. While the stocking may be produced on conventional single feed circular knitting machines, to attain the primary object of the invention, additional objects and advantages result from the use of a multi-feed machine having the ability to widen at each feed such as the machine illustrated in my co-pending application Serial No. 586,587, filed May 22, 1956, now Patent No. 2,861,440, issued November 25, 1958. Consequently the operation and the method of my invention will be described in conjunction with the machine of said application to which reference may be made. The machine of said application is a multi-feed machine constructed to knit two courses of loops on each rotation of the needle cylinder during round and round knitting and to also knit two courses of loops upon each stroke of the needle cylinder during reciprocating knitting. As fully pointed out in the disclosure of said application provision is made in said machine whereby each course knitted by reciprocation may be widened or narrowed. In accordance with the instant invention only the widening operation for each course is employed.

In producing the stocking of FIG. 1 the leg is knit in the usual manner by round and round knitting as previously pointed out but preferably with both feeds in operation to produce two courses upon each rotation of the needle cylinder until the course abcd is reached. At that time a group of needles, represented in FIG. 1 by the needle wales between b and d and between d and b on the opposite side of the stockings, are rendered inactive by the needle selecting means in the manner described in my said co-pending application. Referring to FIG. 2 which diagrammatically illustrates the circle of needles of the machine the inactivated group of needles is shown as extending from the point 6 to the point 7 reading in a clockwise direction, as indicated by the legend. The remaining needles between the point 7' and the point 6 again reading in a clockwise direction are the needles allowed to remain in action, also as indicated by the legend. As illustrated a substantially greater number than one-half of the needles are so inactivated, the group suitably constituting about seventy-five percent of the needles or 300 needles of the usual 400 needles of Womens hosiery machines. It will be recognized however that the particular proportion of the needles inactivated may be varied depending upon the style of heel desired.

The machine is then clutched into reciprocating motion and successive courses are knit one at each feed with a widening operation in each course. The first stroke of reciprocating knitting takes place in a reverse or clockwise direction of the needle cylinder .and, as described in my said co-pending application, when the needles approach each feeding station the leading needle of the active group will be raised to inactive position to join the inactive group and two leading needles of the inactive group of needles will be lowered to active position to join the active group at the trailing end of the latter whereby each course is increased to the extent of a needle loop. This operation is repeated in succeeding strokes of reciprocation in both directions until the needles between the points 6 and 8 at one side of the cylinder, and the needles between the points 7 and 9 at the other side (FIG. 2) have been shifted from the inactive group to the active group of needles. At this point suitably one-half of the total number of needles have been activated and the fabric section 3 has been knit, the fabric section 3 being defined in part by the suture lines bc on opposite sides of the stocking to complete the first of the widening operations.

At this point all of the needles which have been reactivated in the above described widening operation are again abruptly de-activated by the selecting means and only the needles between points 7 and 6 remain in action. Reciprocating knitting is then resumed with a single needle widening in each course in the manner previously explained until the needles between points 6 and 10 and between points 7 and 11 have been added at opposite ends of the active group of needles whereby the fabric section 4 is formed, defined in part by the suture lines e-f on opposite sides of the heel. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 the number of needles re-activated during this second widening operation is substantially less than the number of needles which were moved to inactive position after the first widening operation. Preferably approximately one-half of the number of such deactivated needles were returned to active positions whereby the suture lines e-- are approximately one-half the length of the suture lines bc.

At this point the groups of needles between points 6 and 10 and points 7 and 11 are again simultaneously deactivated by the selecting means of the machine and reciprocating knitting is resumed on the active needles with single needle widening taking place at each feed station in each stroke of reciprocation as before until the needles between points 6 and 8 and 7 and 9 are again added to the active group and are in operation to produce the fabric section defined in part by the suture lines gfc on opposite sides of the stocking heel to complete the third widening operation. Thereafter all of the needles are activated and the machine shifts to rotary knitting for the production of the foot.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 the toe pocket 2 may be similarly knitted solely by a series of widening operations as defined by the suture line 15, if desired, however conventional toe pocket constructions may be employed instead.

Referring now to FIG. 3 a modified construction of the heel pocket is illustrated. Here again the heel pocket is knitted entirely by widening operations, the gore 13 defined in part by the suture line h-i on opposite sides of the stocking being formed in the identical manner as the gore 3 of FIG. 1. When the gore 13 is completed all of the needles re-activated during the knitting of gore 13 are simultaneously thrown out of action and a second widening operation is then performed in a manner identical with the third widening operation in the embodiment of FIG. 1 to produce gore 14 defined in part by suture lines i- The heel is then complete and all of the needles are again placed in action and round and round knitting resumed for the formation of the foot. Thus this embodiment dilfers from that of FIG. 1 only in that the intermediate widening operation whereby the sections 4 defined by suture lines 12-), which are produced by groups of needles between points '6 and and points 7 and 11, are eliminated and that only two sections or gussets 13 and 14 are obtained.

The methods of forming heel pockets as described above produce constructions with a greater fullness than conventional methods. Furthermore the methods permit 4 the formation of the heel pocket with two feed reciprocating operation without the formation of unsightly enlarged openings along the suture lines.

Having thus described my invention in rather full dctail it will be understood that these details need not be strictly adhered to but that various changes and modifications may be made all Within the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A method of knitting a stocking heel pocket on a multifeed circular knitting machine comprising deactivating a group of needles of a circle of needles of said machine, reciprocatorily knitting courses of loops at each feed on the active needles and gradually increasing the number thereof from course to course by reactivating needles of said inactive group during the knitting of each course, thereafter simultaneously deactivating said reactivated needles and again knitting courses of loops on the active needles at each feed and gradually increasing the number thereof from course to course by reactivating needles of said inactive group during the knitting of each course.

2. A method of knitting a stocking heel pocket on a multifeed circular knitting machine comprising deactivating a group of needles of the circle of needles of said machine said group being greater in number than one-half the total number of needles, reciprocatorily knitting courses of loops at each feed on the active needles and gradually increasing the number thereof from course to course by reactivating successive needles of said inactive group during the knitting of each course until substantially one-half of the needles of said machine are active, thereafter simultaneously deactivating said reactivated needles, knitting courses of loops at each feed on the active needles and gradually increasing the number thereof from course to course by reactivating successive needles of said inactive group during the knitting of each course until substantially one-half of the needles are active, and thereafter activating all of the needles and knitting in circular motion.

3. A method of knitting a stocking including a heel pocket on a multifeed circular knitting machine comprising deactivating a group of the needles of the circle of needles of said machine, the number of needles in said group being greater than one-half the total number of needles, reciprocatorily knitting courses of loops at each feed on the active needles and gradually increasing the number thereof from course to course by reactivating successive needles of said inactive group during the knitting of each course until substantially one-half of the needles of the machine are active, thereafter simultaneously deactivating all of said reactivated needles, knitting courses of loops at each feed on the active needles and gradually increasing the number thereof from course to course by reactivating successive needles of said inactive group during the knitting of each course until a substantial proportion but substantially less than all of said second mentioned deactivated needles are active, thereafter simultaneously deactivating all of said second mentioned reactivated needles and again knitting courses of loops at each feed on the active needles and gradually increasing the number thereof by reactivating successive needles of the inactive group until substantially one-half of the needles are active, and thereafter activating all of the needles and knitting in circular motion.

4. A method of knitting a stocking comprising a heel pocket on a multi-feed circular knitting machine comprising deactivating a group of needles of the circle of needles of said machine, reciprocatorily knitting courses of loops at each feed in each reciprocation on the active needles and increasing the number thereof from course to course by reactivating needles of said inactive group during the knitting of each course until substantially one-half the needles of said machine are active, thereafter simultaneously deactivating all of said reactivated needles, re-

ciprocatorily knitting courses of loops at each feed in each reciprocation on the active needles and increasing the number thereof from course to course by reactivating needles of said inactive group during the knitting of each course until substantially one-half of said second mentioned deactivated needles are active, thereafter simultaneously deactivating said second mentioned reactivated needles and again knitting courses of loops at each feed in each reciprocation on the active needles increasing the number thereof from course to course by reactivating 10 needles of said inactive group during the knitting of each course until substantially one-half of the needles are in action, and thereafter activating all of the needles and knitting in circular motion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Smith Feb. 20, 1917 Parker Mar. 31, 1931 Katzenmoyer Aug. 23, 1932 Parkinson Sept. 26, 1933 Cole Sept. 5, 1944 Sheppard Nov. 6, 1945 Lawson Apr. 27, 1948 Lawson Nov. 10, 1953 Crawford Nov. 25, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland Nov. 11, 1909 

